Love
by ambessa4eva
Summary: This is the story of a 17 year old girl, Ameira. Her mother died when she was only ten. Her father remarries the She-Devil herself. But when Ameira starts getting suspicious of an affair, what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

**hello. i want to thank you for reading my story. i know it's probably not that great and maybe even a little cheesy, but at least im trying. **

Chapter One-

One, little event in life can alter reality in so many ways. It could be accepting help from a total stranger, and your life as you know it, will never be the same.

* * *

Terriy came jogging in the kitchen as I opened the door to let him in. he went over to his water bowl, panting, and noisily lapped at the iced water. I went back to the last thing on my list of chores assigned to me while Peter and Stacey were out at dinner. It was a Friday night, and I was stuck scrubbing an already perfectly cleaned toilet. Just where every 17 year old wants to be. Yippee.

I had already finished the dishes, dusting the sitting room, windexing the windows, vacuuming every room in the house, and cleaned the humungous fish tank full of rare tropical fish that Stacey just _had_ to have.

I put all the cleaning supplies away and went upstairs to my new room, in the new house, in the new town, of the new state. The only thing missing was a new country, which was on Stacey's list, but peter said no because he knew that I would _definitely_ run away if they decided on that.

Stacey got everything she wanted, the minute she wanted it, the exact way she wanted it. I've never even _heard_ of a time she didn't get what _her little heart desired._

I was watching TV when I heard the door open and the loud, obnoxious laugh of _her_ echo throughout the monstrous walls of the foyer. She called for me, like a cow to a bell. Involuntarily, I went to her, the yank of the impossibly short leash of my now miserable life. I saw her when I got to the top of the vanilla cream carpeted steps.

_Announcing the She-Devil herself. _

I stopped myself at the mahogany banister without even a thought of setting foot on the first step to a long way down.

"Did u finish your chores?" she snapped at me, looking away from the face of my father, or at least what was left of him. I didn't even like him anymore because of _her._ She ruined everything she laid eyes on, except for me and Terriy. I had managed to save us from her.

"What if I didn't?" I threw at her.

Her face puckered up as she got mad. Her lips were pursed, her eyebrows wrinkled. Her big, green eyes narrowed in on me. She let go of peter and crossed her arms.

"You did not finish your assigned chores?" she questioned me.

"Im not saying I did and im not saying I didn't. Im just asking, what if I _didn't_?"

Peter shot a 'look' at me, trying to tell me to stop, but I never listened to him anymore.

"Ameira Marie Constaline!" she yelled. "I am your mother and you will-"

How dare she say that! "You are _not_ my mother! A woman named Alicia was my mother! You are nothing to me! So _do not_ try to tell me that you are my mother!"

"You stop yelling at me right now! I may not be your mother by birth, but by law, I am your mother _now_!"

"Screw the laws! They're just lying, greedy people anyway! They're the reason she's dead!" I ran up to my room and opened my closet. I grabbed a bag I have had since the first time Stacey tried telling me she was my mother. It was filled with clothes, money, food, and water.

I went down stairs. I didn't care if they saw me leave. I wanted them to see me. I ran out the front door with a loud slam behind me from the door. While I ran, the last thing I heard was them.

"ameira!" I heard my dad yell.

"Let her go!" Stacey said to him "she's no good anyway."

That, and the fact that my father didn't make a sound when, and after she said that, made me run even harder.

When I got a few streets away, I stopped running. My legs were getting ready to fall off. I sat on the curb of a street, staring at the houses. I laid back on the grass, now covered with a thin layer of fresh dew. I closed my eyes, trying to slow my breathing. Everything was silent on this street, peaceful.

I started thinking about the way life was before _Stacey._ Then, I remembered the last time Peter said he loved me.

It was a few days after Valentine's Day of 2002. I was only 10 at the time. Aunt Kaylee dressed me in a long, flowy, black dress. It was simple, no designs. It tied behind my back. She gave me a rose as red as an apple and said to me "This is the rose of your life."

After the service, when we got home, Peter wouldn't even eat. He could barely even look at me. When he tucked me in that night, I said to him "I love you, Daddy." He just stared at me, dazed, and said "I love you too, sweetie." Then he walked out of my room.

The horrible thing about Alicia's death is that she died on Valentine's Day. We were devastated. But, a year later he started dating again. And, exactly two years after Mom's death, he married Stacey. It was only on Valentine's Day because Stacey wanted to be married on the "most promising day of love" as she put it. And so that day, Miss Stacey Angela Ruth becam Mrs. Stacey Ruth Constaline. Also on that day, I swore to myself that I would legally change my name, I was _not_ sharing a name with a monster. That day still hasn't come yet, but it _will_ happen before June 16, 2010, the day I turn 18.

"Hey, are you okay?"

There goes the silence.

It sounded like a guy, a young boy. I just laid there, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" the strange voice repeated.

I opened my eyes and stared directly upward. I saw the sky, so whoever he was, he wasn't hovering over me.

I sat up and looked for the source of the voice. I saw a person, standing a few feet away from me. It was a boy. He was probably 15 or 16.

"are you okay?" he asked me, yet again.

"don't you know how to say anything else? That's like, the third time you've asked me." I said to him, smiling.

"well you don't normally see people lying on the curb around here."

"well, im fine. Ive just been running for a while. Just a little tired."

He asked me what I was doing. I ignored his interrogation for a minute and focused on his features. He was actually kind of cute. He had short, light brown hair with green eyes set into a tan-ish face. His smile was remarkable.

"well," I said, refocusing back on our conversation. " if you really wanna know…"

"yes, I really wanna know."

"I was running away." I told him, kind of ashamed as I said it, ashamed of myself. I sounded ridiculous.

"running away from…?" he asked me, curious as he sat on the curb next to me.

"my parents." I said, starting to feel angry again, I hadn't even heard any sirens.

"well, don't you think they're worried?"

"listen." I said, and paused for him to listen to our surroundings. "there are no sirens, and I hear nobody calling out my name. they don't even care. Theyre not even my real parents."

"youre adopted?" the stranger asked me, surprised at the thought.

"no. my mom died and my dad remarried. She doesn't like me and she can convince my dad into _anything_. That's how we moved here anyway."

"oh, well, whats your name?" he asked me.

"ameira." I told him "and yours?"

"Michael." He said. "so…im guessing you live close by?"

"three blocks away." I said in response.

He asked me how old I was and I told him 16. apparently, he was 16 too. He told me he goes to James F. High School, the school I was to start at.

"_supposed_ to start?" he asked me "are you intending on skipping?"

"as long as I can." I told him.

"you think youd want some company?"

"oh? So youre going to play hookey with a run away?" I asked, a bit of taunting in my voice.

"as long as I can." He repeated to me with a smile.

I smiled back.

"do you want to go for a walk?" he said, gesturing toward the way I came from.

"can we go _this_ way?" I asked, motioning toward the opposite direction from him. "_away_ from where I live. I would much rather go away from there."

We started walking down the sidewalk together.

after a bit of walking and conversation, i asked him "so....shouldn't you be with your girlfriend? it _is_ a friday night."

"aren't i already with her?"

Michael persuaded me back home after a while. he walked me to the front door and said goodbye. he took a rose from the rose bush next to the porch and handed it to me with a smile. then he walked away. i stood out front of the door and daydreamed of the future, Michael kissing me goodnight after a date.

i finally walked into the house, Peter was sitting in the living room, his face white. Stacey was no where in sight, good.

"dad?" i managed to squeak out quietly.

he looked over at me, a smile forming on his face.

"Ameira? oh my god, Ameira!" he raced over to me and gave me a giant bear hug. i could hear a crack in his voice as a waterfall poured down his cheeks.

i wanted to say something-anything-to stop the crying. i searched my brain for words, but drew a blank.

"ameira..." he just kept repeating my name "Oh, Ameira."

finally, the salty tears dried up, and he was able to speak.

"ameira, i was so worried. what happened? where'd you go? are you okay?" the questions just came out all at once. it was like he was talking as fast as possible, but not fast enough.

we sat down and i told him the story, minus anything about Michael. he didn't need to be worrying about boys right now. i had already put enough on his mind.

after we finished discussing the past event, i asked him "where's Stacey?" _as if i even cared._

_"_she went to bed shortly after you left, she told me not to call the police, that you would come back."

so...Little Miss Priss was the one who practically _ordered_ not to call the police. not exactly what a worried mother would do. well...at least Peter still loved me, even if he hadn't said it in six years.

i got up from the couch and sauntered over to the kitchen. i searched and searched for something simple to eat. instead, i found caviar, lobster tail, dragonfruit, and other various foods that should have belonged to a queen.

at last, i was able to find cereal and a banana. i chopped the banana and put the slices into the cereal. i went up to my room and watched TV for a while.

i came downstairs to put my bowl in the sink. as i passed the sitting room, i saw my father on the black, leather chair, reading a book. i put my bowl in the sink and i started back up the stairs. then, i heard a voice talking to me.

"ameira?" my dad called to me.

"ya, dad?" i said to him.

"I love you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey. I have to give some credit for some of these ideas to my two friends Amber and Kaitlin. They asked me to put them in the story, so I worked them in. Tell me what you think. Give reviews! I know this story is kind of cheesy, I realized that after I started reading it. But, this is how it's staying. But if you really don't like something and have and idea to make it better…let me know! **

Chapter Two-

It's hard to believe that a single, small, simple object can persuade you into something you thought was never reality. But there it was, the one and only small, simple object that would never seem to fade. It would always exist in my life, torturing me with multiple memories.

I woke up that morning with Terriy curled up next to me. I glanced over to my nightstand. 10:27 a.m. wow. I normally wake up by 9:00. How long was I out last night? Did last night even happen? Or was it just a dream? But, there, sitting on my nightstand, was the answer to all my questions.

The rose.

My rose.

I got out of bed and went downstairs to get breakfast, actually, it was more like brunch. When I saw my reflection in the silver metal of the refridgorator, I noticed I was still wearing the jeans and South Pole T-shirt I had been wearing yesterday. The jeans had grass stains all over them. Great. Another thing to prove yesterday really did happen.

Oh no.

Yesterday.

I have a…_boyfriend._

I collapsed to the hard tile of the kitchen floor when I remembered the one part of me and Michael's conversation.

_Aren't I already with her?_

That just kept replaying over and over in my mind, like a broken record player that just wouldn't _shut up!_

Suddenly. The door bell rang.

Saved by the bell.

I recollected myself as I went to the door. Slowly, I opened it.

Oh crap.

Go to hell you stupid door bell!

Michael.

"um, hi." He said to me, cautiously. "I was hoping you'd be home."

I was hoping I _wasn't_ home. He didn't need to be seeing me like this.

"hi." I said to him. I moved over out of the way so he could come in.

"um, could you just give me a minute?" I asked him.

He nodded and I raced upstairs to my room. I pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a brown Aeropostale shirt. Then I came back downstairs to find Michael still standing in the foyer, admiring the various pictures on the walls. Most of them were of Stacey, she is unbelievably conceited. He didn't seem to notice me, so I started scanning the photos. Then, I reached the single photograph of one person in particular, Alicia, and I had to get my mind off of her.

"hi." i said to Michael. he said "hey." in return.

"so...this is your house?" he asked me.

"ya. my house." i said "how did you find it?"

"i remembered the address."

just then, Terriy came running out and raced over to Michael. he picked up Terriy adn started petting him. hmm. animal lover. he asked me his name.

"what kind of dog is he?" michael asked me next.

"shih tzu." i told him.

he asked me where my parents were and if he could meet them.

hmmmmm....where were they? i hadn't even taken notice of their absence.

i felt my face grow confused as i said "I'm...not quite sure where they are."

i went to the kitchen to check for a note. when i found it, i snatched it and returned to the foyer, reading it.

_Ameira,_

it began, peter had written it, of course. Stacey would _never_ be kind enough to tell me where she would be.

_I went to the store. Stacey will be at the house until I get home. She might still be sleeping though. I'll be home around 1:30. -Dad-_

well, wait a minute, Peter said Stacey would still be here, but she's not. Oh, well. It's better that she's not here.

"They went shopping." i told Michael. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"no, thanks." he replied. "so, have you decided if you're going to school on Monday?" he asked me.

i smiled at him and said "I think i can manage to get there."

"did you get your schedule yet?"

"it came in the mail yesterday." i went over to the living room to get it. he followed me and we sat on the couch. i handed it to him.

"wow." he said. "we have _every_ class together." he said.

"would you mind escorting me then?" i asked, a little sarcastically, but still a literal question.

he smiled at me, showing his snow-white teeth. then, he asked me "who's that a picture of on the wall over there?"

we got up and went over to the foyer, he pointed to the picture i desperately wished to avoid.

"that's my real mom, alicia." i said.

"oh, if you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"well, she died 6 years ago. she got in a car crash and landed in the hospital. she would have survived through the hospital, if it wasn't for insurance. my parents had just bought a new car, so we were a little low on money. the insurance wouldn't cover the costs for some reason, and so we used what money we had and did what we could with it, but it wasn't enough. she died on Valentine's Day."

"oh, i'm so sorry." he said, solemnly.

"it's okay, you didn't know." i said. we were silent for a few seconds, then, i said "that's my dad, Peter." i pointed to the most recent picture, him sitting in the passenger seat of a car, grinning. "and, that's Stacey." i said, pointing to a proffesional picture of her, smiling.

we talked for a while about random things. well, not really random. we talked about our parents and school. he told me about his brother, Caleb. he's a junior this year.

as he left, he said to me "ya know, i don't even know your last name."

"well i don't know yours either." i replied.

"Connors." he said "Michael Connors."

"Constaline." i told him.

"well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ameira Constaline."

"Likewise."

"i'll be seeing you in school on Monday, correct?" he asked.

"of course." i told him.

"good." he said "ill be here to pick you up at 7 on Monday." he smiled and kissed me on the cheek and left.

"Monday, seven o' clock." i whispered to the darkness.

at about 12:30, Stacey walked through the door.

"where did you go? Dad said you'd be here while he was gone." i asked her.

"i had to run a few errands." she said, rather rudely. i could smell the strong scent of men's cologne on her as she passed me.

peter has never worn cologne, he hates it in fact.

i began to grow suspicious of her.

she sat her purse on the granite kitchen counter and went upstairs.

i got up and grabbed her purse.

birth control pills.

what does she need _these_ for? _who_ did she need these for? i know for a fact that her and Peter hadn't "done it" for a while. she always bought something from Victoria's Secret.

ew. why did i know this?

but, why did she have these?

Peter came home at the time the note said. i helped him with the groceries and then went to my room. i started thinking about what i had just uncovered about Stacey. there were so many questions.

why did she have birth control pills?

where was she just now?

was she alone?

and, the most important question was;

was she cheating on Peter?

after i was finished being concerned about "The Stacey Conflict", i started worrying about the event that was to take place on Monday.

Michael.

School.

Him.

Me.

Boyfriend.

Girlfriend.

oh crap. i haven't even been to school for one day and i have a boyfriend. wow.

Sunday passed at what seemed like extremely, inhumanly, fast pace. Next thing I knew, it was Monday morning, 5:30 a.m. I had and hour and a half until my ride arrived. I got up and took a shower until 6:00. One hour. I blow-dried my hair and put it half-up-half-down. I dressed in jeans and a white Aeropostale t-shirt. It was 6:55, and I was waiting in the kitchen for Michael to arrive. Sure enough, I heard a car pull into the driveway, and a few seconds later the door bell rang. I rushed to the door to let him in.

"Are you ready?" He asked me.

"Ya, just let me get my jacket." I went to the closet and got my bookbag and a brown jacket. "Ready." I said as i came back to the front door. I walked outside to see a black porshe sitting in my driveway.

"_This_ is _your_ car?" I asked him.

"Ya. My dad bought it for me a month ago." He replied.

"You must be like _totally_ rich." I said.

"My dad is just a really good lawyer." He said. He opened the passenger door for me and I climbed in, afraid to touch anything because of how nice the car was.

When we got to school, he escorted me to our first class, Mrs. Haliebaker, english. As we walked down the hallways, people kept staring at us.

"Why does everyone keep looking at us?" I asked him during third period.

"No reason." Is all he said.

Turns out, Michael didn't have lunch with me. Great, looks like I'd have to fend for myself.

I bought a bottled water and an apple for lunch. I began walking to an empty table, when a girl asked me to sit with her.

"Hi. I'm Kimberly. Do you want to sit with us?" The blonde haired girl asked me.

I followed Kimberly to a table with three other girls. One of them with long, straight, brown hair asked me "What's your name?"

"I'm Ameira." I told her.

"Hi, Ameira." She said "I'm Kaitlin."

Kimberly turned to me again and said "Ameira, this is Kaitlin, Geana, and Amber."

They all said "Hiiiiiii." in unison.

Kimberly motioned for me to sit at an empty chair in between her and Kaitlin.

"So, you're new today, right?" Amber asked me.

"Ya." I answered.

They asked me where I moved from. I told them Salt Lake City.

"So," Kimberly started "Is it true that you and Michael Connors are, ya know, goin' out?"

"Ya. I guess so. About that, why does everybody keep staring at us?" I asked the four girls.

They all giggled and looked at each other.

"Well," said amber, still giggling. "michael's only the most popular guy in school. His brother, Caleb, is the quarterback for the varsity team, which would automatically get anyone invoved famous. in this school, Michael isn't just known as Michael, he's known as Michael Connors. His brother is known as Caleb Connors."

"Soon enough," Kimberly said "You won't be known as 'new girl' anymore, you'll be Ameira..."

"Constaline." I told her.

"Right." she said "Ameira Constaline."

The rest of the lunch period, the four girls just kept asking me random questions. My second interrogation in less than a week. it was just like Michael's interrogation, but four times worse. Plus, all i could think about was michael. Why didn't he tell me about his fame? Was he ashamed of it?

i walked out of the lunch room to find Michael waiting for me. i walked over to him and said "hey."

as we walked, he held my hand, while more people stared. at least i knew why.

we got to Mr. Smith's math class and sat at a table. when class started, and i knew nobody would be watching, i asked him the question I'd been waiting to say.

"I sat with the four girls at lunch today, they told me why people keep staring at us." i said.

he sighed, he knew he was in trouble.

"why didnt you tell me you were popular?"

"ameira," he began "not many people like me for who i am, they pretend to like me to get into parties. you seemed to like me for _me_. I didnt want that to change."

"Michael, I'm not going to change my mind about you because of your social status. It's you who might change to maintain yours. I'm about as low in popularity as it gets."

he smiled "well, you won't be anymore, you're dating _Michael Connors_ now, it wont be the same for you, even if we break up."

"well, don't _you _forget, you're dating _new girl_ now."

he smiled "so, who were the four girls you sat with at lunch today?"

"Kimberly, Amber, Geana, and Kaitlin." i told him.

he grinned and nodded and repeated their names "Kimberly Jordan, Amber Wienburger, Geana Dock, and Kaitlin Belle."

"What's wrong?" i asked

"those four girls are just as popular as i am. they're preppy and the Geana girl, she's the School Slut." He told me.

"Oh, I guess I shouldn't hang out with them?"

"Well, you can if you want. Just, promise me you wont get sucked into their clique. They use people, so be careful, they might use you to get to me or Caleb." He said.

"Speaking of Caleb, when do I get to meet him and the rest of your family?"

"Are you doing anything after school?" He asked me.

"Nothing, that I know of anyway."

"Well, then you can meet them tonight." He told me "And when do I get to meet the Constaline parents?"

"Whenever, I guess." I told him.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. When school let out, Michael drove me to his house. it was three blocks away from mine, on Cedar Lane, the street where I met him last Friday night.

He pulled into the driveway of a huge, light blue house. he walked in and I followed. There was a woman sitting on a stool at an island counter in his kitchen.

"Hi, Mom." He said to the brunette-haired lady.

"Hey, Sweetie." She responded without looking up.

Finally, she peered over the _People_ magazine she was so intrigued in, and noticed me. "And who would this be?"

"Mom, this is Ameira. She just moved here."

"Hello, Ameira." She said to me, getting off of the stool to walk over to me. "Nice to meet you." She said, holding out her hand.

I shook her lotiony-soft hand and said "Hello, ."

"Where's Dad and Caleb?" Michael asked his mother.

"Your dad is in the Study, and Caleb still isn't home yet."

Michael and I went upstairs, he stopped in from of a closed door and knocked.

"Come in." A deep voice called from inside.

Michael opened the door and walked in the small room. The walls were painted tan, well, what wall was left. They were lined completely on all four sides with dark, wooden oak bookshelves. There wasn't one spot on the shelves that didn't contain a book. I wasn't sure why so many books were necessary, I wasn't even sure that they had even had the spine cracked on some of them, they were in pristine condition. There were Atlases and Dictionaries and Encyclopedias and probably a book on every subject you could think of.

"Dad? This is Ameira." He said almost immediately as he stepped foot in the room. A few of the hundreds of books lay on his wooden desk that matched the bookshelves.

The man looked over the rim of his glasses and glared at me. "It's nice to meet you, Ameira."

"You, too, Mr. Connors." I said to him.

"Please, call me David." Mr. Connors told me.

I smiled and nodded. Then I turned to Michael and asked where the bathroom was. He told me the last door to the right.

"Could you excuse me for a moment?" I asked Mr. Con…David.

"Of course." He told me.

As I walked out of the room, I heard David ask Michael if I was his girlfriend, and Michael answer yes.

Michael and I were sitting on his couch,watching TV, with his arm around my shoulders, when we heard Caleb walk in the front door.

A few minutes later, Michael's brother walked in the room. Michael stood up, as did I.

"Hey, Michael." Caleb said.

Caleb was a stocky boy. He was quite muscular and was about 6' 9".

"This is Ameira." Michael introduced me, for the third time today.

"Yes, I know." Caleb said in his deep voice, thought not quite as deep as his father's. "Ameira is very popular right now, especially since you're dating my lil' bro."

Wow, I guess Michael and I were bigger news then I assumed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said "I'm Caleb."

"Hi." I said.

Michael and I watched TV for a while, then, apparently he wanted to meet _my_ parents now. So he drove us to my house in his Porsche.

When we got inside, Peter was in the Living room, reading the same book as before.

"Dad?" I said, trying to get his attention. He looked up from his book and immediately took notice of Michael.

"I want you to meet Michael." I said to him.

He got up from the leather sofa and walked over to us. He held out his hand as he said "Hello, I'm Ameira's father, Peter."

Michael shook his hand and said "Hi, I'm Michael Connors."

"So," Peter said "Are you my little girl's boyfriend?" He asked

"_Dad._" I complained, but he ignored me.

"Well, uh, ya, I guess I am." Michael said.

"You better take care of her, don't hurt her."

"Yes, sir. I understand, Mr. Constaline."

"Dad," I said, interrupting before my father embaressed me any further "Michael and I are gonna go out for a while, go out to dinner or something, okay?"

Peter walked to the front door with us. When I opened the door, my father seemed to take immediate notice of the black car sitting in our driveway. A car obviously, much too expensive to belong to us. "Is that a _Porsche_?" Peter asked, surprised.

"Boxster." Michael told him. Then, they started talking cars, so I just waited as patiently as I could. Finally, I was getting annoyed, so I had to intrude.

"Dad? Can we go now?"

"Sure, honey." He turned to Michael and attempted to give him a $20 bill as he said "Dinner's on me."

"No,sir." Michael said as he declined his offer. "I can't except that."

"Sure you can." Peter said.

They went at it for another five minutes before I had to butt in, yet again.

"Dad," I began "You don't need to pay. Michael says he's got it. If it makes you feel any better, I'll take the money and give it back to you after dinner."

"I guess you win, Ameira." He handed me the money and told me to keep it anyway, it'll make him believe he actually did pay.

Michael and I were finally on our way to a restaurant. I wasn't sure which restaurant, Michael wouldn't tell me. And I didn't know where anything was yet, so I couldn't even guess. He was taking advantage of the fact that I had just moved here, from a totally different state, from the other side of the country, in fact. I would just have to except that I wasn't in my hometown anymore, I was in Virginia now.

Olive Garden! He was taking me to Olive Garden for a fist date!

"Michael!" I said, surprised "You're taking me to _Olive Garden!_"

"Ya, what's wrong with Olive Garden?"

"Well, nothing. I mean, you're taking me to _Olive Garden_ for a _first date_?"

He only smiled and slightly nodded.

That whole night, I tried to order less expensive foods. We talked and talked, and at last, we were on our way home. He walked me to the front door and kissed me goodnight and told me he'd pick me up again tomorrow.

I walked inside to find my father unloading a shot-gun and putting it away.

Typical fatherly instincts.

"Dad?" I asked "Were you going to _shoot_ Michael?"

"Not directly _at_ him." He confessed.

I rolled my eyes.

"Did you have a good time?" He asked me.

"Ya. He tooke me to Olive Garden." I told him.

"Olive Garden? Wow, impressive." He said, just as surprised as I was.

"Ya, I know. He wouldn't tell me where we were going at first. So I was extremely stunned when he parked in front of the restaurant."

At that point, our conversation was about over. So I went to my room. As I passed Peter and Stacey's room, I heard Stacey talking, in a hushed tone.

"So, where will we meet at?" She whispered.

Those words caught my attention, so I stopped and hid behind the wall to eavesdrop.

"What time?" She asked.

"Ummmm, around nine on Wednesday good for you?" She asked the unknown voice on the other line.

"And we'll meet on Parchway Road, correct?"

"Okay, I'll see you then." She said.

Then, "I love you, too, Sweetcheeks."

Sweetcheeks? Who the hell was she talking to?

I heard her cell phone be set on the table, then she went to the bathroom and shut the door. A few seconds later, I heard the shower start. I was safe.

I tip toed into her room and retrieved her cell phone from the nightstand. I went to "Received Calls" and found the number she was just talking to. The name was labeled Jennifer, the name of one of her friends from work. But, the number wasn't Jennifer's. I went to her contacts and found two people under the name of Jennifer. The other Jennifer was also labeled with the last name of DeMorie, this name was correct with Jennifer DeMorie's number accompanying the name. this information was all correct. But the name labeled Jennifer had a number I had never seen. I heard the shower shut off, so I quickly memorized the unknown number. I placed the phone almost exactly where it was. As I left the room, I kept repeating the number over and over in my mind.

482-4778. 482-4778. 482-4778.

I repeated those seven numbers until I was able to find a pen and paper. Then, I wrote them down.

I turned the TV on for a charade. While I was ignoring the sounds coming from the television, I kept thinking about everything I needed to remember.

Wednesday.

Nine o' clock.

Parchway Road.

Where the hell was Parchway Road?

Damn it. Why did this have to happen when I still had absolutely _no clue_ where anything was?

The next day, I kept thinking about 9:00 on Wednesday. I tried to make things seem normal to Michael, but I don't think he bought it. Still, he didn't ask about anything. That was good enough.

I sat with Kimberly, Amber, Gina, and Kaitlin again that day.

"Hey, Ameira." Gina said to me "Next week, the four of us are having a sleep over at Kimberly's. Did you wanna come?"

"Sure." I said.

"Great!" said Kaitlin "Amber will pick you up on next Friday at say….six?" she asked.

"okay." I said. "I'll be ready."

"Awesome." Said Kimberly.

Then, they just continued talking about boys and clothes.

After Michael dropped me off at my house, and I was finally alone, I found a map of the town. It didn't take me long to find Parchway Road. It was two blocks down from Cedar Lane. I could easily walk there. I started planning a cover, which wasn't hard at all. Stacey wouldn't care. Peter would just be happy I wasn't getting in trouble, and I could just tell Michael we were going out to eat tomorrow.

Wednesday evening, 8:00 p.m.

I told Peter I was going to Michael's and I would be back by ten.

I started walking. At last, I reached a sign that claimed the road I was at was Parchway Road. I started walking, I made sure I wore dark colors and a hoodie so she wouldn't recognize me. I finally saw her red Sebring in the driveway of a small-ish yellow house.

1427 Parchway Road.

She had apparently just got there, the headlights were still on and the engine was still running. She got out and walked over to the front door. Before she even got to the door, it opened. I heard a faint voice greet her. Then I saw Stacey and the unknown figure start to make out, right there in the doorway! She had already unbuttoned the top button of her shirt when the door closed.

She is such a _slut!_ That _tramp_ is having a very intimate affair with some _person!_ And the man _must've_ known she's married!

I would _have_ to tell Peter, but he would never believe me.

I walked back home, furiously kicking rocks and punching trees. I got home at 9:45, with blood covering my hands. Peter was already in bed, so at least he wouldn't ask what happened to me.

I cleaned myself up in my bathroom. I wrapped my hands and laid in bed to watch TV.

Stacey attempted to walk in the front door at about twelve. She tip-toed up the steps to her bedroom. Shortly after that, I fell asleep, extremely exhausted by how upset I had gotten.

That night, I had a dream, which was remarkable because I hadn't had a dream in a few months. I dreamed of Michael and I. we were sitting at a dinner table with his family, laughing. Suddenly, my dream vanished and turned into a nightmare.

Stacey

She was sitting on a couch with…_somebody_. I couldn't see the other person.

"I love you, Sweetcheeks." Stacey said to the absent figure.

I woke up, suddenly, sweating. It took me a minute to catch my breath and realize it was just a dream.

It was already 5:25, my alarm would go off in five minutes, so I just got up and took a shower.

Michael arrived at seven, just like he had been for the past week.

"Do you wanna go out sometime tomorrow?" he asked me in the car.

"are you gonna take me to an expensive restaurant again?" I asked him, smiling.

"no, I was thinking a movie or something."

"okay." I replied.

"I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow then."

We got to school and walked to class, holding hands. People had finally stopped staring.

During lunch, a couple of girls had worked up enough courage to ask _Ameira Constaline_, as I was now known as, to sit with them.

"Hi." A dark brown-haired girl said "Did you wanna sit with us today?"

I looked over to Kaitlin with apologetic eyes, and followed the girl to her table. It was a very small table, there was only one other girl sitting there.

As we sat down, they introduced themselves.

"Hello." The blonde-headed girl said to me "I'm Sarah."

"And I'm Melissa." The other girl, who asked me to sit with them said.

"Hi Sarah. Hi Melissa." I said "I'm Ameira."

"That's such a pretty name." Sarah complemented me.

"Thanks." I said. I didn't want to be rude, so I complemented her on the first thing that popped into my head "I like your shirt."

"So," Said Melissa "Do you like JFH yet?"

"Um, ya." I responded.

"Do you see anyone you like….any boys?"

Hmph, _they_ didn't know yet.

"Actually, I'm dating somebody." I told them.

"Oh, really? Who?" Sarah asked, eager to know the answer.

"Michael Connors." I said.

They seemed to not believe me. They looked disappointed, disgusted, and like I had just lied to them about a too obvious answer.

"Oh." They both whispered, letting their eyes drop to the table.

"Could you excuse me for a minute?" I asked them.

As I walked away from the table, I heard them talking about me.

"Do you really think she's going out with _the_ Michael Connors?" Sarah asked her friend.

"No, of course not." Melissa said.

As I passed Kimberly's table, I heard Gina call my name. I went over and sat with them.

"Don't worry about them." Said Amber.

"Who?" I asked, sounding like an idiot, I knew exactly who they were talking about.

"Melissa and Sarah." Kaitlin said.

"They don't believe that I'm going out with Michael." I said.

After school, I made sure I had the full attention of Melissa and Sarah. Then, I started kissing Michael. I looked over at the two girls, their faces had a surprised look.

I told Michael I'd meet him at the car. I walked off, and went over to Melissa and Sarah.

"Hey, guys." I said

"You're, you're, you're." Sarah stuttered.

"You just _kissed_ Michael Connors." Melissa was able to say.

"Well, ya." I said, as if that fact wasn't obvious enough "I told you we were dating."

"Ya, I guess you did." Sarah confessed.

"Well, Michael's waiting for me," I started "I'll see you guys later, 'kay?"

they just nodded and stared, zoned-out, as I walked away. I felt their eyes boring a hole in my back as I got into the black Porcshe.

We hung out at my house for a while, and at 6:00, he left.

Now, I had some time to investigate.

I went up to Peter and Stacey's bedroom and started looking around. I had no clue what I was looking for, but I would know when I found it.

All I found were a few birth control pills in the top drawer of her nightstand.

Whatever, or _whoever_ she was hiding, she covered up evidence very well.

**A/N: Sorry, I kind of messed up in Chapter One on some of the facts. Michael is supposed to be 18, not 16. And Ameira is actually 17. So I also messed up on her birthday, which isn't going to be in June, it's actually going to be in April. Sorry for the confusion. I know this chapter was kind of long, sorry for that too. Tell me what you think about it, give reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I'm so sorry I havn't updated in a while. I've been working on a different story lately. And thanks to my bff: fanpire4ever.**

Chapter Three-

Horrible things happen in life, at anytime, without warning. As it turns out, the small town I had just moved to was full of these "little surprises". It's like God was just _waiting_ for me to move to Virginia, then he threw everything at me, full speed.

* * *

The next day, I sat with Sarah and Melissa at lunch again. They seemed to be a lot nicer to me since they realized I hadn't lied to them. I told them Michael and I had a date tonight.

"You are so lucky." Melissa said.

"Lucky for what?" I asked

"To be dating Michael, duh!" Sarah said matter-of-factly.

"Any girl in this school would sell their soul to have what you have." Melissa announced.

Not knowing how to answer, all I said was "Oh."

They asked me how we met. I altered the story a little bit, and said we met because Terriy ran away, and I was on Cedar Lane, and Michael found him, and we bumped into each other. I already had enough of a reputation in this school, I didn't need a record for running away.

"Awwwww." They both said in unison.

That night, Michael and I went to the movies, as he promised. When he came to pick me up, Peter went through the same thing as last time:

Talk about cars

Try to pay for the date

I ended up taking $15 this time.

Hmmmm…maybe we should go out on dates more often, I could add this money to the savings for a car. I had a little over $1,000 now.

Saturday and Sunday passed by quickly. Before I knew it, it was Monday again. That was the first day Michael and I actually _kissed_.

Tuesday, Mr. Stockham announced we were to start a new unit in science, bacteria. He said later on in the week, we would have a pop quiz on it, so we had to take _tons_ of notes. As it turns out, our pop quiz was the very next day. I failed, of course.

But Thursday passed by quickly, and as soon as I knew it, it was Friday night: 5:00 p.m. Amber would be here to pick me up in an hour. I had _nothing_ prepared.

Aabout 10 minutes before 6, Amber called.

"Hey, Amber." I said.

"Hey, Ameira. I'll be at your house in a few minutes, okay?"

"All right." I said and hung up. When she arrived, I grabbed my cell phone that I rarely ever carried. She knocked on the door.

"How did you know where my house was?" I asked as I opened the front door.

"Not many houses go up for sale around here. I remembered where the 'For Sale' sign was." She answered, absent-mindlessly.

I grabbed my bag and followed Amber outside to her car.

_What is with these people and their nice cars?_

There, sitting in my driveway, was a silver Mercedes Benz. I felt my face grow astonished.

"This is your car?" I asked, highly surprised.

"Ya, why?" She asked, like I just asked if she was really female.

"It's just…everybody has such nice cars around here."

"This _is _a rich neighborhood, Ameira. What did you expect, old pick up trucks?"

We drove some odd blocks away and pulled into the drive of a small, out-of-place, yellow house. Kimberly and Gina came bouncing out the front door. They rushed over, screeching.

"Ameira! You're here!" They reminded me of a small child who just got what they wanted for Christmas.

"Hi." I said, my voice full of fake enthusiasm.

"Sorry," Said Amber "They're a little excited to have you here."

"A little?" I asked.

She shrugged in response before Kimberly and Gina pulled me into the house. Amber walked, calmly, behind us. I think I'm really going to like her, she's so…down-to-earth. I just can't figure out why she hangs out with total opposites of her…

"Where's Kaitlin?" I was finally able to ask.

"She's still on her way." Gina informed me.

We decided we were hungry and ordered Pizza Hut. While we ate, they asked about Michael and I.

"So," Kimberly began "What's new with you two?"

"We went out the other day. My dad is a total freak every time Michael picks me up. They spend _forever_ discussing Michael's Porsche, then they always argue who's gonna pay, Peter or Michael. I always end up taking my dad's money, and Michael pays."

"Where has he taken you so far?" Gina asked.

"Mostly we just hang out at each other's houses. But he's taken me to Olive Garden and the movies."

At that moment, Kaitlin entered the house.

"Hey, guys." She greeted as she came in.

"Hey, Kaitlin." They all said. Then, Amber said "We were just asking Ameira about her and Michael's relationship."

"Oooooooh," Kaitlin cooed, then asked "Have you kissed yet?"

"_Kaitlin,_" Kimberly said "What a stupid question. _Of course_ they've kissed."

They all looked at me and Gina was the first to speak "You _have_ kissed, right?"

"Ya, of course." I said.

They all slouched in relief.

"Where's your parents?" I asked Kimberly.

"They'll be back in about an hour, they went out to eat."

We were watching a movie and eating---more like throwing---popcorn.

"Hello, girls." The woman greeted us.

"Hey, mom." Kimberly said.

They other girls all said "Hey, Natalie."

"Who's this?" Natalie asked, motioning toward me.

"This is Ameira Constaline." Gina told her.

"Hello, Ameira." The woman said to me.

"Hello, Mrs. Jordan."

"Please, call me Natalie."

"Hello, Ameira." The highly quiet man said.

"Hello." I said.

He told me to call him Brian.

The parents left us alone, and we stayed up and talked about boys, played truth or dare, and ate half of the kitchen, normal sleep-over things.

I came home the next day to find an empty Victoria's Secret bag and a few forgotten rose petals.

Ew

The next month or so passed by quickly, before I knew it, it was two weeks after the sleep-over night.

Ugh, Stacey had puked, again. She kept telling me and Peter she had something to tell us. She sat us in the living room, and she just stood in front of us, staring.

"Peter," She started "Ameira, I have something to tell you two." She paused. She didn't say anything for a minute or two.

"What is it, sweetie?" Peter asked.

She looked at Peter, and said "We're going to have a baby." Then, she said "I'm pregnant."

Ugh, I hate that word, _pregnant._ Stacey was going to be the bearer of my half-brother/sister. I felt sorry for that child.

Peter whispered "We're…having a…baby." Then he yelled "We're having a baby!" He jumped and rushed over to Stacey and hugged her so hard, I swear her eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. Then, he turned, wide-eyed and crazed, to me and picked me up off the couch and hugged me and said "You're going to have a little brother or sister!"

"Okay, dad." I said "You can stop _crushing_ me now."

He put me down. Not knowing what to do, he raced over to Stacey again. Finally, he settled down enough to sit still again.

"So," He said "We need to make an appointment for you to go to the doctor's. Ameira, would you mind taking Stacey if I lend you the car?" He asked me.

_What? He's the father, he should be doing this kind of stuff. And Stacey is still perfectly capable of driving herself._

"Sure." I agreed anyway. I wasn't going to do it for Stacey, I will do it for my sibling.

"We need to decide on a room to make the nursery." Peter said. He just seemed to be all big and father-like now. Where'd that come from?

"We could use the extra room upstairs." Stacey offered.

They droned on and on about multiple things they had to fit in before around September.

Peter had gotten an appointment for 2:00 tomorrow.

I fell asleep watching TV and was awoken by a fire alarm.

I rushed downstairs to the kitchen. Stacey was standing in front of the stove, trying to get a pan to stop smoking.

"Get away from there!" I yelled over the alarm.

I went over and scooted Stacey away from the stove. I got a wet towel and smothered whatever was in the pan until it stopped emitting smoke. Then, I went to the nearest smoke alarm and stopped it from making the horrible buzzing noise. I returned to the kitchen, Stacey was still standing where I left her.

"What were you doing?" I asked her.

"Well," She started, seeming embarresed "I was attempting to make pancakes."

"Why?" She never cooked before, why start now?

"Well, I figured if I'm going to be a mother soon, I should know how to do this kind of stuff."

I felt mad at her, for _just now_ trying to be a mom, when she had five years to do that with me. But, at the same time, I was happy. She was finally realizing she had to take care of someone else. I felt joy for the baby, its mother---who had never tried to do _anything_ for _anyone_ else---was finally trying for _it._ All I could do was smile at Stacey.

"Well," I finally said "You shouldn't have been standing that close to the smoke. You could hurt the baby if you inhale it."

"Thanks." She said, sincerely "I'll remember that."

"Why are you being so nice to me all of the sudden?"

"I'm having a baby." She whispered. Her face, she was still scared. She had absolutely no clue how to do any of this.

"Well," I said "We should get you ready to go. It's almost one." I said.

**Sorry if this chapter seemed kind of long, it would have been longer, but I edited. I'm sorry it took so long to publish. Thanks for reading. Please review!**


End file.
